Michigan State true freshman quarterback Damion Terry is likely headed for a redshirt this season, but he's still contributing with the scout team.Mike Mulholland | MLive.com

EAST LANSING — Just when you thought you'd heard the last urban legend about the talents of Michigan State true freshman quarterback Damion Terry, there's another to add to the list.

It goes like this: "Damion Terry is so good, he helped the Spartans beat Michigan without even stepping onto to the football field on Saturday."

The thing about this story is that it's true.

Michigan State linebacker Ed Davis — who had 2 1/2 sacks himself — said Terry's work on the scout team was so impressive, that Terry proved to be a better version of Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner than Gardner was himself in the 18th-ranked Spartans' 29-6 victory over the Wolverines at Spartan Stadium.

"He made it so hard for us coming into the game. He was hard to tackle, he scrambled a lot.''

Michigan State defensive end Shilique Calhoun, a sack master himself against Michigan with 2 1/2 sacks of Gardner, also said Terry deserves credit for the win.

"He wasn't going to let us tackle him, he was going to try to get the ball to where our receivers could catch the ball and our DBs couldn't,'' Calhoun said. "He was a huge key in our preparation. I thank him, I missed a couple tackles on him in practice.

"He's a very good athlete, he can run, he has a very good arm, he can throw very well, but he's very good running it. I didn't know he could shake people like he did, and that helped me know what I needed to know to tackle Devin Gardner

"He gets just as much praise as the defense and the offense. He's one of those hidden talents no one knows about. he will shine.''

Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio doesn't understand why anyone would be surprised to learn of Terry's great play with the scout team offense.

"There was a reason that we had him in this quarterback race,'' said Dantonio, who considered playing Terry before a thumb injury sidelined him for a week. "So he has talent. As far as (tailback) Gerald Holmes, he did a great job. I thought Nick Tompkins did a nice job as well, you know, simulating the running back. But the running back was really never a factor in this football game.

"The guy we had to stop was the quarterback. He was the guy that was making it happen for them. We sort of set our mind that that's what we had to do.''

Terry gained his fame at Michigan State with a fall football scrimmage like few others have ever had with the Spartans, completing 10 of 14 passes for 240 yards and three touchdowns, much of it against the Spartans' first-team defense.

Terry was at it again in practice this week, as Dantonio made him "live" in both Tuesday and Wednesday practices to help his defense prepare for the skilled Gardner.

It clearly worked, as the Spartans held Gardner in check. Gardner was 14-of-27 passing for 210 yards with an interception while getting sacked seven times and finishing with minus-46 yards.

"Damion Terry did an excellent job throughout the week, made us miss, ran the ball down the field on occasion,'' Dantonio said. "He did an outstanding job. He's going to be an outstanding quarterback for us. He's a 230-pound, 6-foot-4 guy that can run and move.''

Dantonio also said Michigan State's number 98, true freshman Demetrius Cooper, was another key scout team member. He played the role of Michigan tight end Devin Funchess in practice.

Cooper is a 6-foot-5, 208-pound freshman defensive end from Chicago who Dantonio raved about on his Sunday night teleconference.

"We were trying to figure out who could we use as a guy that could emulate (Funchess) because he is outstanding tight end receiver, big-bodied guy that can really run,'' Dantonio said. "We moved Cooper, and he did an outstanding job. He is that type of guy. He has that kind of athletic ability, which is scary because he reminds me so much of Julian Peterson. When you see him next year, that's what you will compare him to.''